"When
the autumn woods are in their glory, the persimmon tree is covered with
a glory of its own, every twig being loaded with little flattened
globes, salmon pink in color and covered with a bloom that in the
shadows is deep blue." - Margaret Warner Morley

Common
persimmons are well known to those who forage wild or native plants for
food. They're also well known by enterprising wildcrafters who
might make a little extra money by harvesting from wild trees and
selling persimmons, persimmon pulp, etc. Many
of you may not be able to grow
persimmons. In that case you may wish to purchase persimmons or
forage for your own. The notes below are for those who would seek
persimmons from property they do not own. Whether you're a casual
forager or a seasoned wildcrafter there are a few things you should
consider.

Rule #1: ALWAYS
ask for landowner permission before foraging or wildcrafting
persimmons. I have rarely met a landowner that would not give
permission to harvest from wild trees. Most orchardists might
have a different answer for you, but you could hardly blame them. Ask anyway, they may feel they have more than enough!

It takes a little effort, but wild persimmon trees can be found fairly
easily. You may have to make repeat trips to determine whether
the trees are male or female (or in some cases, mosaics). Once
you have secured the necessary landowner permissions, and have mapped
out your trees, it is then simply a matter of waiting. Those who
wish to harvest leaves for tea may want to do this earlier in the year
as persimmons are quick to get spotted leaves and even drop leaves very
early in the fall. If you forage for persimmon leaves, you want
them at their peak...usually mid-summer. The good news is that
one may often find other wild foods while making visits to the
persimmon trees. It is important that when you ask for landowner
permission, that you discuss the options of foraging or wildcrafting
for other wild foods. A landowner may not mind you harvesting
persimmons, but they may not want you touching their mushrooms,
medicinal plants, or hickory nuts. The quickest way to lose your
permission to harvest is to anger a landowner by removing things from
the property which were not part of an original discussion. Once
someone has angered a landowner, there is a good possibility that no
one will ever gain permission to access his or her land for any reason.
No one can blame a landowner who has had to deal with
unscrupulous people on their land.

Wildcrafters and foragers alike should also conduct their activities
with ethics, conservation, and the legal aspects of their actions in
mind. Primarily, you need to know the laws surrounding your
activities. While persimmons have no laws surrounding their
harvest, many states do have laws regarding products made from those
persimmons (such as persimmon pulp, persimmon puddings and other baked
goods). These laws may vary from state to state, and may vary
depending on the amount of processing/selling you do. Please check with your state government

While no one will suggest you tread lightly on escaped non-native
invasive plants, native plants are another matter entirely.
Non-natives can easily cause problems with native plant
communities. Often they can overrun habitats to the detriment of
natives. Heavy harvesting of Japanese knotweed, dandelions,
kudzu, and others would create a net gain for the habitat and the landowner from your
activities. Basically, you have a vested interest in the welfare
of that which you harvest and the landowners who show grace in allowing people to forage on their property. It is your responsibility to conduct
your foraging and wildcrafting activities accordingly. Tearing up
habitat, trampling, wholesale stripping of plants/fruits/etc, are
activities which can not only anger a landowner, but may destroy your
ability to harvest later. It is up to you to garner the knowledge and
expertise before you go out. You need to learn as much as
possible about the plant(s), habitat(s), the year's weather, etc.
Foragers and wildcrafters can not assume they are the only ones to
harvest their particular area.

It must be noted that there are occasionally (unfortunately not at all
uncommon) times when heavy harvesting is not an issue. Foraging
and wildcrafting ahead of a planned razing of a site for a housing
development, road project, or industrial complex, may allow
opportunities to harvest considerable amounts in a small area.
These areas will be drastically affected. As always, good communication with
the landowner is key .

There are a number of ethical wildcrafting and foraging
guidelines. While these are basic guidelines, as noted above,
responsible harvesting also involves a broad base of knowledge of plant
communities, habitats, weather, an idea of land use and potential for
additional visitors harvesting behind you, plants on the federally
threatened/endagered/special concern lists, state listed species for
your state, legal harvesting seasons, and a variety of conditions to assist you in making
decisions about how and when (or when not) to harvest.

Anyway,
please look at the information on ethical harvesting that is widely available. The following links are a starting
point for ethical foraging and wildcrafting: